Cultural Center to host free Liszt recital by Barbara
Nissman on May 5

4/23/01

Internationally renown pianist Barbara Nissman will grace the stage of the
West Virginia State Theater in the Cultural Center, State Capitol Complex, Charleston,
when the West Virginia Division of Culture and History presents her in concert
on Saturday, May 5, at 7:30 p.m. Nissman will enhance her performance by talking
to the audience about her “friend” composer Franz Liszt and relating
historical and anecdotal information. The program, entitled Franz Liszt--The
Elvis Presley of the Keyboard, is free and open to the public on a first-come,
first-seated basis.

Nissman launched her international career in 1971 with a highly acclaimed
European tour, personally sponsored by conductor Eugene Ormandy. In Europe,
she has appeared as a soloist with the London Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic,
the BBC Symphony, the Rotterdam Philharmonic and the Munich Philharmonic. In
the United States, Nissman has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, the
Pittsburgh Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
She has worked with some of the world’s most famous conductors, including
Riccardo Muti and Leonard Slatkin.

In 1989, Nissman made history by becoming the first pianist ever to perform
the complete piano sonatas of Sergei Prokofiev in a series of three performances
in New York and London. In the wake of these historic performances, the complete
sonatas and other major solo piano works of Prokofiev were released in a three-volume
recording by Newport Classic and represented the first such set of Prokofiev’s
music ever made on compact disc. “Nissman brings to these fascinating
sonatas an all-too-rare combination of stunning technique and unmistakable thoughtfulness,”
wrote the American Record Guide.

A noted Prokofiev scholar and authority in her own right, Nissman has traveled
to Moscow and collaborated with leading Soviet musicians on a detailed study
of Prokofiev manuscripts housed in the Central State Archives. In commemoration
of the composer’s 100th birthday, she performed the complete cycle of
his piano sonatas throughout Europe and the U.S. during the 1991-92 season.

Nissman also has been associated with the music of Alberto Ginastera. In 1976,
she was invited by the composer to play his Piano Concerto No. 1 with l’orchestre
de Suisse Romande in celebration of his 60th birthday. Her recording of his
complete solo and chamber works for the piano, including Sonata No. 3, written
expressly for her, is available on the Newport Classic label. Both Gramophone
magazine and the American Record Guide chose this recording as one of the best
in 1989.

In addition to orchestral appearances in the U.S. and Europe during the 2000-01
season, she is scheduled for concerts, lectures and master classes in China
and also will be touring Australia and New Zealand. Last October, she performed
at the Cultural Center and for the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra. When not
on the road, Nissman lives on a farm in Lewisburg, W.Va.

For more information about Franz Liszt--The Elvis Presley of the Keyboard
or other programs of the Division, call (304) 558-0220.

The West Virginia Division of Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia
Department of Education and the Arts, brings together the state’s past,
present and future through programs and services in the areas of archives and
history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. The Cultural Center is
West Virginia’s official showcase for the arts. Visit the Division’s
website at www.wvculture.org for more information about programs of the Division.
The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action
Employer.